Name: Homemade Marshmallow Fondant Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 225 g icing sugar (sifted); 120 g white mini marshmallows; 2 tsp water; 2 tbsp shortening (or more as required for greasing); Coloring (as desired); Flavoring (as desired)

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With this easy marshmallow fondant recipe, you can make your own fondant in absolutely no time at all and save lots of money at the same time!

Fondant is a lovely cake covering and decorating medium and I really love working with it.

The first time I used fondant was when I attended a local wedding cake baking and decorating workshop almost 2 decades ago. At that time, we were taught how to make our own fondant and for a very long time after that, I only used that fondant recipe for all my cakes, including those that I made for my customers.

A 2 tier cake in white fondant and matching white roses — Classic Homemade Fondant

That recipe was a classic homemade fondant recipe, made by double boiling gelatin with water and then added glucose syrup into. Icing sugar is then kneaded in until the fondant turns into a dough-like consistency and is no longer sticky. This was a long process but I followed it obediently.

As I started getting more and more cake orders, it was no longer practical for me to make my own fondant was it was too time consuming. It was way cheaper to make my own fondant than to use commercially made fondant but the time spent making it was no longer very practical for me. Plus all the cleaning up after that....

And so I moved to commercial fondant and stayed on with it for all my cake orders. Now that I not longer actively take cake orders, using commercial fondant has taken its turn to be impractical. Since I do not use as much fondant as I used to, much of the store-bought fondant ends up expiring, unused. And since I am also not keen on the long process of making my classic homemade fondant, I turned to Marshmallow Fondant.

What is Marshmallow Fondant?

Technically, the marshmallow fondant is a short-cut version of my classic homemade fondant recipe. If you were to make your own marshmallows (see my recipe here), you will learn that marshmallows are essentially made by double boiling gelatin and then whipping liquid sugar into it until it turns light and fluffy. The mixture is then left overnight to set and that's what makes marshmallows. And these steps are pretty much the same steps I used in making my classic fondant.

So, by using marshmallows, the steps that require gelatin to be double-boiled and added with glucose syrup and such are cut out. Instead, ready-made marshmallows are melted (in a microwave or over a double boiler) and icing sugar is kneaded in until its forms into a dough-like consistency. The whole process is literally cut down into 2 easy steps.

Can You Make Marshmallow Fondant without a Microwave?

You certainly can. Simply double boil the marshmallows until they are melted and then add in the icing sugar and knead until the fondant is formed.

Here is how to double boil marshmallows:

Place a pan filled with water on the stove.
Weigh your marshmallows and place them in another heat proof bowl or pan (ideally with a lid). Mini marshmallows are ideal as they melt faster than the regular ones. But if you don't have the mini version, simply cut your regular sized marshmallows into smaller bits before adding them into your bowl/pan. Add the required amount of water.

Place the bowl/pan over the pan filled with water.
Turn on the heat and let the heat from the boiling water melt the marshmallows. Covering the bowl/pan with a lid will help speed up the melting as it helps contain the heat so I you have a lid, use it.

Stir the marshmallows as they start to melt to help them melt ts a more consistent rate.
Remove your bowl/pan from heat once the marshmallows are completely melted.

How to Make Marshmallow Fondant Icing

Place your marshmallows in a heat proof bowl. Add water and melt the marshmallows in a double boiler or in a microwave (on medium at 30 seconds intervals).

Stir the marshmallows every now and then to help them melt more consistently.

Once melted, transfer into a bowl filled with icing sugar.

Mix with a spoon until some of the sugar is incorporated. You can also do this with a cake mixer, but just make sure to grease the paddle attachment and the bowl generously with shortening.
Turn the mixture into a well greased work surface. Knead until the fondant comes together into a dough like consistency.

If you do not intend to use the fondant immediately, apply a thin layer of shortening all over the fondant. Wrap it tightly with cling wrap.
To color the fondant, it is best to use gel based colors so as to not alter the consistency of the fondant.

Marshmallow Fondant Recipe - Succes Factors

These are some additional things worth taking note of when making your own marshmallow fondant:

Always sift your icing sugar. We do not want our fondant to end up with tiny bumps of icing sugar in it.
Always (and I really mean it) grease your hands, work surface and all your bowls and spoons and spatulas generously with shortening when mixing the fondant. Melted marshmallow can be a pretty gooey mess if you don't grease well.
Always keep the fondant covered. Fondant dries up very quickly and it is important to always keep it covered. It is best to wrap it tightly with cling wrap and stored in an airtight container.

So is marshmallow fondant worth the effort? Well, that is really up to you. Below are some of the pros and cons of making your own fondant, be it the classic version or the marshmallow version on this page.

The pros of marshmallow fondant:

a lot cheaper than store bought fondant
uses only 3 ingredients
can be made in small batches
can be adjusted to any flavor

The cons of marshmallow fondant

Kneading is required
Your kitchen can get messy with icing sugar
Time consuming if you need to make them in large batches.